Permanent dunnage



April 1952 T. ODELL 2,593,174

PERMANENT DUNNAGE Filed March 16, I949 /N we 7-012 77400145 0 DELL W W$441 J4T'TOENE-Y5 Patented Apr. 15, 1952 UNITED "STATES PATENT OFFICEThomas ODell, Muncie, Ind., assignor to General Motors Corporation,Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware 2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to dunnage and its ob- Ject is to providepermanent dunnage for vehicles and more particularly for trailer trucks.At the loading end of the truck, its side walls include plates providingrows of holes for receiving pins extending from load bracing bars, eachbar having preferably two fixed pins at one end and two extensible pinsat the other end. The holes which receive the pins of a bar are locatedin horizontal rows in staggered relation so that the bar can be securedin proper position according to the length of the load.

Further objects and advantages of the present inventionwill be apparentfrom the following description, reference being had to the accompany ingdrawings wherein a preferred embodiment of the present invention isclearly shown.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is'a perspective view showing the interior of a truck and a loadbraced therein by the dunnage embodying the present invention.

Figs. 2,3 and 4 are top, side and end views respectively of one of thebracing bars. I

Referring to Fig. l, the floor I of the truck supports two layers ofarticles, for example,

storage batteries II which are packed together between the side walls l2of the truck with spacing material [3 wedged between to prevent sidewiseshifting of the load. The articles H are packed between end braces l4and 15 each com prising horizontal boards [6 joined by vertical boardsll; Brace I4 is located against the front inside corners where the sidesjoin the front wall [8 which may curve outwardly. Shifting of the loadlongitudinally is limited by two bracing bars 20 each having, at oneend, two fixed pins 2! welded to a block 22 (Fig. 4) welded to the barand, at the other end, two extensible pins 23 and 24 supported forsliding movement by a block 25 (Figs. 2 and 3) welded to the bar. Twoplates 26 and 21 preferably fiush with the side walls of the truck areprovided with holes 28 somewhat larger in diameter than the pins. Theseholes are arranged in sets of horizontal staggeredrows and thehorizontal center-tocenter spacing of these holes is equal to thecenter-to-center spacing of the pins. The bars 20 are preferably I-barswhich have rounded ends 30; and the horizontal or center line distancebetween the ends is slightly less than the horizontal distance betweenthe plates 26 and 21.

Before a bar 20 is assembled with plates 26 and 21, the pins 23 and 24are retracted to positions 23' and 24" respectively. Retraction of pin23 and pin 24 is limited by engagement of their bent 2 portions orhandles 23h and 2 th with a lug 3| welded to the bar. The bar 20 islifted by handles 32 welded thereto and the pins 2| are placed in holes28 of the left plate 26 which are best located for location of the bar20 closest to the boards I! of the end brace IS. The bar 20 is placedagainst the right board I! and the pins 23 and 24 are moved right andare passed into holes 28 of the right plate 21 which will locate the bar20 closest to the boards [1 of the end brace 15. Pin 24 is retained inextended position by the handle 23h of pin- 23 and pin 23 is retained inextended position by the side wall of a notch 33 in bar 20 in which thehandle 23h is placed by turning the pin 23. The load can shiftrearwardly only until the slight clearance, if any, between the bars 20and the end brace I5 is taken The permanent dunnage of the truckincludes the plates 26 and 21 and the bars 20, but may include also theend braces l4 and [5.

While the embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed,constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other formsmight be adopted.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. In a permanent dunnage for a vehicle comprising the combination ofplates which form directly opposite, interior side wall portions of thevehicle near the fioor thereof, said plates being provided with holesarranged in horizontal staggered rows above the fioor and a load bracingbar of a length slightly less than the horizontal spacing of the plates;a pair of fixed pins extending from one end of the bar and adapted to bereceived by certain holes in one of the plates, a pair of slidable pinsof different lengths supported at the other end of the bar forlongitudinal movement relative to the bar and adapted to be received bycertain holes in the other plate, said pins having handles with thehandle of the longer pin extending transversely to the direction ofmovement of the pins, said handle being received by a notch of the barby turning said handle behind the handle of shorter pin which, ifextended permits movement of the handle of the longer pin into the notchof the bar, said handle of the longer pin when located in the notch ofthe bar preventing accidental dislodgment of both slidable pins.

2. In a permanent dunnage for a vehicle comprising the combination ofplates which form directly opposite interior side wall portions of thevehicle near the fioor thereof, said plates having holes arranged inhorizontal staggered rows above the floor, and a load bracing bar; apair of fixed pins carried at one end of the bar and extending beyondthe end, said pins adapted to be received by certain holes in one of theplates; a pair of L-shaped members of difierent length slidablysupported at the other end of the bar in the direction of the length ofthe bar with one arm of the members adapted to be received by certainholes in the other plate, one of said members being rotatable and havingits other arm positionable behind the other arm of the other member whenboth members are extended and be received by a. notch provided by thebar to prevent retraction of both members from their extended position.

THOMAS O'DELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 Number Name Date 1,639,649 Dains Aug. 23, 19272,030,773 Thomas Feb. 11, 1936 2,440,437 Fahland Apr. 27, 1948

